LitvakSIG, May 20, 2007

Teleconference Board Meeting

8:00 pm EDT

Present were Judy Baston, David Hoffman, Howard Margol, Mike Posnick, Aaron Roetenberg, and Olga Zabludoff. Ada Green was absent.

1. Treasurer’s report:

Assets
Checking account - BA 16,048.78 (as of 5/18/2007)
BA CD’s -                      20,268.52 (as of 5/18/2007)
Schwab -                         3,632.81 (as of 2/28/2007)
Transamerica                35,279.77 (as of 3/10/2007)

Total Assets                  75,229.88

Membership: 302; goal 400
Donations 2006 thru 5/20 - 14,973.00
Donations 2007 thru 5/19 - 43,212.80

Outstanding Issues:

Capital Campaign - The SIG needs major donations to support our research projects
More volunteers needed for VRT, Districts, Translators, and Special Projects
Mike asked Aaron if the accountant who is preparing the tax return will also prepare an annual statement. Aaron will ask about this.

2. Status of tax-deductible donations from Canada and Great Britain

Mike reported that the negotiations to process tax deductible donations to the LitvakSIG are at a standstill. Other Canadian JGS groups and Mike’s personal contacts will be approached if this does not work out. JGS GB will be asked for help regarding donations from Great Britain.

3. Status on LitvakSIG stock held by a brokerage firm

Mike reported that the paperwork is ready and will be sent to the officers for their signatures.

4. Ad in SLC conference program

Howard sent the price schedule for various page sizes. Taking into consideration the LitvakSIG’s limited general funds, the board agreed to the half-page ad for $150. Its size will be 5 1/5” wide by 4 ¼” high. Deadline is June 1. Judy will prepare a draft of the copy for the ad and send it to the board for review.

5. LitvakSIG luncheon in SLC

Judy reviewed the plan for tables led by “mavens” representing geographic areas of Lithuania. Networking is the major goal. She suggested the “maven” for each table bring country and shtetl maps, books, a laptop to access records, or other materials to share. She will write to those who signed up for the luncheon to find out their areas of interest and to identify those willing to be leaders at each table. She will also ask attendees to submit information about any brick walls in their research that they have encountered and ask the “mavens” to prepare responses in advance. Beginners may be seated together. She will find out if internet access is available in the luncheon room.

6. Nominating Committee report

David reported that this is an intermediate report. The deadline to apply or be nominated for the board is June 1. From June 1 to 10, the committee will deliberate and the committee will report the results of its recommendations to the board, and report them to the SIG membership on the Digest and post Biographical Statements of Nominees on the Website in mid-June.

David will email the membership list directly about serving on the board. David will email out the ballots on July 1 so that voting by email can take place by July 14. They will be counted before voting takes place at the SIG meeting. Nominating committee will select people to count ballots The ballots will be preserved after the election. David suggested using membership numbers on each ballot to identify members but protect anonymity during the election process, while preserving information that could be available if the election were challenged.

7. By-laws committee report

The committee agreed that the proposed amendments to the Bylaws that are most important to change this year should be written up in the correct language and submitted to the members. Two amendments that need to be voted on this year, if sufficient time remains for this to be done, are:

Voting by email, which is permitted by the current bylaws but it was thought that a bylaw amendment affirming email voting would be helpful.

Prohibiting proxies in elections, except reserving the right of the Board to institute them for limited non-candidate votes.

David will send the minutes of the previous meeting in and Mike said he will be available to discuss this during the upcoming week. Inasmuch as these proposed amendments to the Bylaws were approved at our April 8 meeting, we should be able to mail them to our members, with an explanation of what impact they will have and why the Board supports them.

8. GSU agreement

There was a general discussion of the agreement between the GSU and the LitvakSIG. Howard agreed to clarify the current status of the agreement and will report back to the Board.

Meeting adjourned 10:30 pm EDT.

Respectfully Submitted,

David B. Hoffman

Secretary, LitvakSIG